By Andrew Gardner Predictions that differing opinions about homosexuality will cause division in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship pose a quintessential challenge: Are we a people who can cooperate despite our differences? I agree with CBF moderator Colleen Burroughs’ call for…
Minister says ‘personhood’ bill violates separation of church and state
By Bob Allen A Baptist minister said Feb. 28 that Oklahoma’s proposed “personhood bill” would violate religious freedom because it makes a particular theological view of when life begins the law of the land. Bruce Prescott, executive director of Mainstream…
Union’s impact on life leads retired pastor to collective bargaining table
Shepherd’s Clinic provides service to working poor
By Alice Horner It’s Tuesday afternoon in what at first looks like a typical doctor’s office. Phones are ringing and copiers beeping. Then there is something different: laughter. Employees and patients are really enjoying themselves. Welcome to Shepherd’s Clinic, a…
The contraception mandate fight
By David Gushee Congress passed the Affordable Care Act in 2010 over the strenuous objections of the Republican opposition (which continues to view it as illegitimate and hopes to see it struck down very soon). In an effort to advance…
Baptists oppose gay-marriage ban
By Bob Allen About 100 people attended a statewide rally Feb. 25 at a Baptist church to oppose an upcoming vote to ban gay marriage in North Carolina. The gathering at Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., was the…
CBF leader says it’s time to revisit ban on hiring gays
Baptist college sues over contraceptive mandate
By Bob Allen A Baptist college in Louisiana is suing the federal government over a requirement that religious schools and hospitals cover contraceptives in insurance for their employees, including birth control pills that induce abortion. The Alliance Defense Fund filed…
Expert: Church-state problem result of employer-based insurance system
By Bob Allen A Baptist church-state scholar says religious liberty concerns about new coverage mandates come with the territory in America’s employer-based health insurance system. Melissa Rogers Melissa Rogers, director of the Center for Religion and Public Affairs at Wake…